Meteoric
by MidnightEmberMisery
Summary: There was so much snark in Roy's voice, Artemis had to wonder how he wasn't drowning in it. At any other time, she'd be laughing her head off. But right now, she was too angry to see anything funny about this.


Meteoric

It was all Megan's idea, really. A 'team bonding exercise' that wasn't an exercise as much as an excursion. A short walk to the beach next to Mount Justice, a picnic, beach sports, swimming, a bonfire, star-gazing. The whole shebang. At first, Artemis had refused. There were plenty of better ways to spend her time. Like checking her equipment, or patrolling Star City with Green Arrow, or even doing homework. She didn't really feel like bonding with people that, half the time, suspected she was a traitor.

Her aversion to the trip intensified when she learned that that bastard Roy – 'Red Arrow', what a rip-off – would be joining them. If there was any 'good guy' that she really disliked, it was Roy. He was more annoying than Wally – if that was even possible. He looked down on her, just because he was older, and had been Green Arrow's apprentice (never 'sidekick') first. Well, if he knew half the things she'd experienced, he'd be worshipping her. Well, maybe not worshiping her, but he'd definitely respect her.

But eventually, she gave in, because Megan just looked so damn sad! Besides, Conner shirtless wasn't really something she'd ever not want to see. And Zatanna would be there too. The two girls had struck up an odd friendship, and it worked for them, but they didn't get to hang out much, so any time together would be a good time.

The outing mostly proceeded just as Artemis had pictured it would. Wally ate an entire picnic basket (luckily, Megan had packed a second), Conner decimated them all at beach volleyball, Kaldur spent most of the day swimming, and Robin freaked out when they wouldn't let him light the fire with any gadgets. They made s'mores (Artemis made hers sans graham crackers, because she couldn't stand the taste), and Robin and Wally tried to entertain them with ghost stories. When they were out of s'more materials, they laid out on the three blankets they'd brought to look up at the night sky.

None of them had known this prior to the jaunt – except for probably Robin – but there was to be a meteor shower that night. And, just Artemis' luck, she ended up lying next to Roy. There'd been no other place for her. She'd tried to get in next to Zatanna or Megan, but Zatanna was between Dick and Wally on the first blanket, and Megan between Conner and Kaldur on the second blanket. So the only space left was next to Roy on the final blanket. If it wouldn't have majorly disappointed her friends, she would've left right then and there.

But, she prided herself in keeping her promises to the people she actually liked, so she stayed. She huffed as she fell into place next to the bulky ginger – as far away from him as she could, using her long blonde hair as a pillow of sorts. She crossed her arms over her chest, and did not utter a word until the meteor shower began a while later.

"It's so pretty," she muttered, entranced by the white streaks racing across the blackened sky. No response from anyone. So she sat up and looked at the other two groups. They were asleep. Kaldur was flat on his back, stiff as a board. Megan was cuddled up to Conner, who was in a position similar to Kaldur's, but a little more relaxed. Wally was taking up a large amount of space on the blanket he occupied, his limbs sprawled every which way, so Zatanna and Robin were 'forced' to curl up with each other. The archer half-smiled; her friends looked so innocent when they slept.

"It's nice, seeing them not worried for a change." Artemis whipped her head around and saw Roy sitting up as well, his scowl for once a smirk. She narrowed her eyes; as if he knew anything about them. He was the one who refused to join them. He was such an asshole to everyone!

"Oh, like you care."

"Of course I care! They're my friends. They were my friends _first_. Are they even your friends at all. I mean, I've heard the rumors about how they think you're a mole."

She stuck her tongue out at him. Sure, it was a bit childish, but it was what she was feeling, so she just rolled with it. Kind of like how he was currently rolling his eyes at her.

"Real mature of you, replacement."

"I. Am. Not. Your. Replacement," she growled. He was _not_ going there. He had no idea what had happened to get her the job as Green Arrow's apprentice. And it wasn't her fault that Roy had decided to drop Green Arrow like a hot potato once he'd been denied access to the Watchtower. If anyone here was immature, it was him.

"Oh really? Because Green Arrow only brought you in after I left him. I think that _does _make you my replacement." There was so much snark in Roy's voice, Artemis had to wonder how he wasn't drowning in it. At any other time, she'd be laughing her head off. But right now, she was too angry to see anything funny about this.

"Take that back, you…!" She was having a little trouble thinking of insulting name to call him, but that didn't matter. Because she was interrupted by one of his hands on the back of her head, the other at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him and resulting in the meeting of their lips. She wasn't even give time to think. She was just plunged right in, and – as much as she hated to admit it, and never would, even under the threat of intense torture – she sort of liked it.

His lips were warm and soft – not at all how she'd imagined them (not that she'd been imagining them, of course) – as they encased her bottom lip. And then his top met her top, his bottom to her bottom, and she felt his tongue slide into her mouth. Their tongues moved in sync – she even moaned a bit – and Roy pulled her closer and closer, until she was so close that there was no space between their bodies. And then his tongue left her mouth, his lips pulling away from hers. She felt disappointed, until she felt something against her jaw. Roy had moved his lips, and was suckling and biting.

They moved slowly, ever so slowly, to her neck. He had a field day with her neck. She would later swear that it was likely that he'd not left an inch of her neck untouched by his lips. She moaned again, and fisted her hands in his short hair – when did she even move them there? And then his lips were back on hers, and they were sliding and gliding and their tongues were twirling and spinning and she'd never felt like this, not in a million years…

And then Wally started snoring. They broke apart hastily, not recognizing the sound and worried that they might be caught. When they finally realized it was just Wally being Wally, they started to snicker, careful to keep it quiet, lest they actually wake someone up. Sadly, their efforts were in vain. Robin sat up nimbly, without waking up Zatanna. He looked over at the two archers, confusion for once settling upon his face.

"Are you two…laughing? Together?"

"No no no no no! Of course not! We hate each other!" Artemis protested quickly. They couldn't let _anyone _know what had happened…not yet, at least. Maybe after they'd talked about it – and they _would_ talk about it – but not now. Not yet.

Robin gave her a bemused look before nodding his head and laying back down. Artemis and Roy looked at each other, wide-eyed. Then they fell back on the blanket, chuckling to their heart's content until they each fell asleep.

And if Robin woke up again later and saw them cuddling when he checked on them…well, he wouldn't say anything…yet. But he took pictures, of course. He couldn't miss a chance for perfectly good blackmail, now could he?


End file.
